Quinn's grin widened as she handed Ariana her iced cappuccino, the drink order she'd passed along to the sophomore during dinner the night before. "I can't believe you remembered! It was incredible. We hiked everywhere and stayed in these amazing little inns."
"I'd love to see the pictures," Lexa said kindly. She looked at Quinn's friend. "You can leave the other drinks here. They're running late."
"Okay," Quinn said, taking this as her cue to leave. She grabbed the tray from the other girl and placed it on the empty seat next to Ariana. "Let us know if you need anything else!"
"Thanks!" Ariana called after them.
She glanced at Lexa, who was sipping her drink as she watched Quinn and her friend scurry off, her expression completely normal. She wasn't feeling self-satisfied or cocky over having errand girls at her beck and call. It was as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. As if this was her birthright rather than some kind of power trip. Ariana thought of Noelle and her imperious stares, how she got off on ordering people around.
Lexa seemed like her complete opposite.
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While Noelle was a ruthless dictator, Lexa was a benevolent ruler. It was odd, intriguing, and almost refreshing.
"Do you want to go back and change?" Lexa asked. "I'll hold your seat for you."
"No, thanks. I'm fine," Ariana replied, trying her best to look cool and poised.
It took all her willpower not to hold her cold drink cup against the back of her neck. The scrapes on her skin stung from the sweat. She should have just told Kaitlynn to piss off. She should have walked out. Better yet, she should have never shown up there. Kaitlynn wouldn't really make good on her threat to expose Ariana, would she? What could she possibly have to gain from seeing Ariana get hauled back to jail? Kaitlynn wouldn't have even been free right now if it wasn't for Ariana. Didn't that gain her any leeway here?
Ariana gripped her coffee cup. She knew the answer was "no." Kaitlynn would turn her in just for the sheer pleasure of watching the newsfeeds and seeing Ariana, as she so eloquently put it, "fry." The girl was going to ruin Ariana if she didn't get what she wanted. The problem was, Ariana had absolutely no chance of getting her hands on a million dollars. Kaitlynn might as well have asked for a billion. She might as well have asked for her own personal space shuttle with a five-star chef, a water bed, and a flight plan to Jupiter.
I should have killed her. I should have just ended her right there."We missed you at breakfast," Lexa said, ruffling her own bangs with her fingertips to make them fuller. "Soomie went over the entire
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debate from the con side. I thought Maria was going to spear her with her fork. I swear it was touch and go there for a while."
Ariana glanced at Lexa, alarmed at the mention of forks and spearing. "What?"
"I'm just kidding," Lexa said with a laugh. She sipped her coffee and glanced up as the debate teams made their way to their chairs behind the podiums. "So, where were you?"
"Oh, I. . ." What did people do in the mornings that would make sense? She didn't want to tell the girl she had been retaking her English entrance exam. It was a secret only Palmer knew about, and with him she had been able to use it to her advantage, but the fewer people who knew about it, the better. It would definitely raise too many questions. Especially from Brigit. Ariana saw a guy walk by in athletic shorts and the lightbulb went off. "I went for a run."
Lexa's face lit up. "You run? Me too! We should go together sometime. There's a great jogging path down by the river."
Ariana's fake smile was so stiff it actually hurt. "Great."
"Hey," Maria greeted them, grabbing her coffee from the tray before settling in next to Lexa. "Did we miss anything?"
"Nope," Lexa replied.
"Here, Ana!" Brigit handed Ariana a white waxed paper bag as she walked by. "It's a raspberry muffin. My favorite. Not that I can eat them anymore. I wasn't sure if you liked raspberries, but I figured you'd be hungry since you missed breakfast. Do you like raspberries? What's your favorite fruit?"
"Can we twenty-questions her later?" Soomie asked, slipping past
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Ariana to sit at Lexa's other side. "A) I'm sure she's not in the mood, and B) the debate is about to start."
"Thanks, Brigit," Ariana said, touched by the gesture. "And I love raspberries."
Brigit grinned happily and sat back in her chair.
"Hey, ladies."
Palmer picked up the empty coffee tray and dropped into the seat next to Ariana's, wearing a dark teal Izod polo and light shorts and looking country club perfect. He stashed the tray under his chair and grinned at Lexa. Ariana instantly stiffened and turned her knees away from him.